By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 lost 76.30 points or 1.03% to 7,332.50 in Wednesday’s trade, extending losses of 0.1% in the previous session as market participants tracked a negative session on Wall Street overnight amid surging bond yields and weaker than expected data.
The Technology sector led declines, with Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) down 0.79%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) dipping 9.4%, Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) losing 2.37%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) shedding 3.38% and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) falling 4.5%. Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) declined 16.2% following a mixed trading update before the opening bell.
Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) bucked the trend, rallying 18.28% and lifting its weekly gains to over 40%.
The Materials sector was 1% lower, with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) down 1.49%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) falling 0.3%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) falling 2.66% and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) shedding 3.89%. On the upside, Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) finished 0.24% higher, Arizona Lithium Ltd (ASX:AZL) rallied an eye-watering 21.43%, Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) gained 3.68% and Magnis Resources Ltd (ASX:MNS) added 0.85%, while Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) finished flat at 0.8.
Energy stocks finished higher as supply worries pushed crude oil prices to fresh seven-year highs, with Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) adding 0.87%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) up 1.84% and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) gaining 2.07%.
Financials suffered losses, with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) down 3.71%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) falling 0.66%, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) down 1.45%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) losing 1.16% and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) falling 0.79%.
On the data front, the Westpac consumer confidence index fell 2% to 102.2 points in January in response to a surge of coronavirus cases that exacerbated existing supply chain problems and prompted shoppers to turn more cautious.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields pushed to near 3-month highs of 1.985%, while United States 10-Year rates were at fresh 2-year highs of 1.875%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 1.58% to 12,612.